We all know that most children have at least some symptoms of ADHD. So how do you know if your child truly has ADHD or is just going through a typical childhood phase? How do you protect your child from becoming the next over-diagnosed ADHD statistic?

I’ve found some insightful information regarding the ADHD Epidemic. What’s more, I found the causes for the over-diagnosing of ADHD interesting, and more than little scary! According to a recent Huffington Post article titled How Parents Can Protect Kids From the ADHD ‘Epidemic’, there are 3 events that occurred about 15 years ago that triggered the over-diagnosing of ADHD in children:

1. Drug companies gained the right to advertise directly to consumers. (How many drug commercials did you watch the last time you actually watched the commercials and didn’t skip over them?) Apparently, these drug companies then used misleading marketing to convince parents and teachers that ADHD was EVERYWHERE! Those ADHD symptoms in kids weren’t just a normal reaction to being trapped in school all day. No, those ADHD symptoms in kids were a medical problem that could be fixed by a magic pill!

2. Drug companies brought to market new and expensive drugs for ADHD.

3. A study gave the impression that ADHD drugs were more effective than therapy in treating ADHD and that ADHD medication was “safe” for children. All of this compounded to make these drug companies billions of dollars… and lead to a massive increase in ADHD diagnoses in our children!

So while all of this may be interesting, what can parents realistically do to address the symptoms of ADHD in their kids without falling for the drug companies’ marketing schemes?

First, ignore the extremes. On one hand, you’ve got proponents of ADHD stating that 10% of all kids and almost 20% of teenage boys have ADHD. And there are skeptics stating that ADHD doesn’t exist at all of that the symptoms of ADHD in children are just normal childhood “naughtiness.” As with nearly everything else in life, the extremes are both wrong. Yes, not everyone diagnosed with ADHD actually has the disorder. But likewise, some children genuinely do have ADHD and their symptoms significantly impair their lives without proper treatment.

Parents need to know that an accurate assessment of ADHD requires comprehensive screenings and repeated interviews with the child and parents and teachers—and make sure that the screenings include information from your child’s teachers. This is one of the most vital, yet most often overlooked components of diagnosing a child with ADHD. Other diagnoses should be considered as well. And the symptoms of ADHD in your children should be evaluated only if they are severe and persistent enough to be considered “clinically significant.” While your child may have symptoms of ADHD, if they aren’t significantly interfering with his life, then ADHD medication may not be warranted. Sorry drug company billionaires!

Research and ask your health care professional about the possibility of your child having Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Many kids who are misdiagnosed with ADHD actually have ODD, which is best treated with parent training and behavioral therapy—not ADHD medications.

Understand that most pediatricians have very little knowledge of how to treat real ADHD. Ironically most ADHD medication is prescribed by pediatricians. So ask your child’s pediatrician what his training is in treating symptoms of ADHD in children and what screening tools he uses.

If you do seek help from an ADHD specialist such as a child psychiatrist, child psychologist, or child therapist, ask them the same questions you would ask your pediatrician. What is their professional’s experience in treating ADHD? What training does they have in treating ADHD? What screening tools do they use?

If your child has been diagnosed with ADHD and treated in some way, yet still has significant problems in school or with peers, then it’s time to evaluate where you stand.

Ask yourself these questions:

Is the medication being checked and adjusted as necessary?

Have you sought help for homework or school behaviors from a professional? o

Have you sought help for your child social skills and peer behaviors?

Does your health care professional seek out reports from your child’s teachers?

If the answer is no, you need to evaluate your options and possibly seek help elsewhere.

Get support. Raising a child with symptoms of ADHD is very stressful. Seek out professional help as you navigate through this challenging part of your life.

I recently read a blog that I’m sure you will find just as interesting as I did. The blog links the rise of ADHD to the decrease in physical activity in children today. The blog “Increase in ADHD Runs Parallel With Decrease in Physical Activity” makes a fairly convincing argument that the rise in ADHD diagnoses could be in part due to the fact that children today just aren’t getting enough physical activity.

Why is there such an increase in childhood ADHD over the last two decades?

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 11% of children are diagnosed with ADHD by the time they finish high school, a drastic increase since 1990. I completely agree with many critics out there that suggest that the number of children diagnosed with ADHD is significantly higher than it should be, due in part to the fact that screening for ADHD is largely subjective. Most screening tools ask parents and teachers a variety of questions in order to assess for ADHD. However, if you’re a frustrated parent or a teacher who just wants this hyper kid to sit down and shut up, it’s not too easy to sway the data for these surveys. My wife was a teacher for 7 years. She knows from personal experience that a hyperactive kid can cause MAJOR disruptions in class. Teachers are super stressed and getting a hyperactive kid medicated might really change their classroom dynamic for the better. While I hope this is not common, I can see where a teacher-completed ADHD assessment scale might be swayed ever so slightly to promote medication and those zombie-like tendencies we have all heard horror stories about.

Temptations of the “Magic Pill”

Furthermore, many parents have been brainwashed to think that ADHD medication is the “magic pill” they have been looking for. Let’s face it…it’s WORK to raise any child in this generation, much less a kid with hyperactive and impulsive tendencies! Just imagine you’re a stressed out, frustrated parent of an impulsive, bouncing off the walls overactive 8 year old boy. Wouldn’t you want a “magic pill” that could solve all of your parenting problems without raising so much as a finger? And your child simply has to raise a cold glass of water and pop that little blue “magic bullet” that will make him listen like an angel and sit at his desk class like a plastic mannequin that will please even the most rigid teacher on the planet! The little pill that will make their child magically behave and be a model child, the type of child that other parents will be envious over. Guess what? ADHD medication is NOT the “magic pill.” I know this from working with children for over a decade. When parents medicate their children, instead of finding a magically wonderful child, they often complain that their child is “Just not himself” or a “zombie” or even find that it works for part of the day (usually the part of the day that their child is in school) and then the child becomes the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Toons for the entire evening!

While there isn’t any clear research out there linking the rise in ADHD diagnosis to the lack of physical activity in children, this blog on the Huffington Post sure made me stop and think. The rise in ADHD diagnoses certainly runs parallel to the decline in physical activity in children. Kids naturally have lots of physical energy they need to expel. How many times have you watched your children playing and thought, “Gee, I wish I had that much energy.” So think about it—children are locked up in school for increasingly longer and longer hours each year. Add to that the fact that schools are slashing their Physical Education classes, extracurricular sports teams, and recess time. (Oddly enough, studies demonstrate that when kids are engaged in regular physical activity they show less anxiety, increased focus, and better academic performance—sound like ADHD symptoms to you?) It makes perfect sense that children are hyperactive. Of course they are! They have tons of pent up energy and ZERO ways of constructively utilizing that energy on a daily basis. And to top it off, I bet I can guess what your kids do after they get home from school. Chances are, they plug in to the TV and begin a marathon of video games that is only interrupted by chips or a candy bar and a fast dash to the bathroom when they can’t hold it any longer. Starting to see why ADHD is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s lethargic society?

According to the CDC less than 30% of adolescents meet the guidelines for daily physical activity. Parents can list mountains of reasons to willingly keep their kids indoors—neighborhood safety, urban density, the lure of electronic devises—but the fact of the matter is that it’s healthy for kids to get outside and burn off some of their pent up energy!

How to Help Hyper Kids WITHOUT “Magic Pills”

I am a huge advocate to not medicate your child for ADHD unless you have already tried other avenues. Don’t get me wrong, though. There are children that legitimately need ADHD medication and can benefit greatly from taking it regularly. But a better place to start is with encouraging physical activity, reducing video game time, and using some Positive Parenting skills to see what a difference you can make without relying on the “magic pill” first. Start by taking your kids to the park, playing catch in the yard, signing them up for a gymnastics class—all of these will help your hyperactive child burn off some of their pent up energy and will make a drastic improvement in the way things go for the rest of the evening. At Behavior Management Coaching, we teach many Positive Parenting skills that can help frustrated parents of hyper and impulsive kids who just aren’t quite ready for the medication path. I have personally seen amazing results for ADHD children and their frustrated parents from these Positive Parenting skills. Using these skills and making several other small changes can make a world of difference in your child’s hyper and impulsive behaviors without going down the “magic pill” path that often leads to even more side effects and other challenges for your already struggling child to overcome.

Behavior Management Coaching can help parents deal with the stress of parenting an ADHD child by teaching concise, proven Positive Parenting Skills to reduce childhood behavioral problems, improve the child’s self-esteem, and drastically reduce parent’s stress levels in the process. Talk to us today.

Your child is always on the go, never slows down until he passes out late at night, and you’re just not sure what you can do about it. Does that sound familiar to you?

Maybe you just got off the phone with your son’s third grade teacher about him disrupting class for the 15th time in the last month! Or maybe you’re afraid, no petrified, to take you’re 8 year old to Church because the last three weekends have ended in a disaster. And what’s even worse than the stress you feel resulting from these behavioral challenges?

The stress you feel about not knowing what to do about it!

You’re just like the tons of other frazzled parents that have benefited from learning behavioral treatment strategies for managing your child’s Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. You’ve talked to friends, the nice old lady that sits by you at Church, and even the lady who offered unsolicited advice when little Bobby thought it was a good idea to jump off the table at that nice restaurant you took the family to last Saturday night. They have no shortage of advice. But you wonder just how useful it is after trying everything 10 times with no changes in your son’s behavior. By now you’re skeptical of finding anything that will successfully treat your child’s ADHD.

And the popular solution of medicating your child doesn’t sound enticing either. You’ve heard the horror stories, and even witnessed first-hand, the “zombie-like” trance that some kids appear to be in after starting these medications. Don’t get me wrong here. I’m all about medication if all else fails.

But all else won’t fail if you follow the tips and suggestions presented here. Follow these tips consistently and your ADHD child will be well on his way to success at school and at home alike. When behaviors improve from following suggestions like these, he will begin to feel more confident, self-esteem with sky-rocket, and your stress level will plummet.

Toolbox for Treating Childhood ADHD

Shift the Focus from Negative Behaviors to Positive Behaviors– Children with ADHD tend to get in trouble A LOT! For this reason, it’s pertinent that you develop a mindset of using Praise and Positive Attention as opposed to Punishment and Negative Attention. Your child has likely had enough Negative Attention to last a lifetime. Sure, it’s hard to focus on the positive when you’re stressed beyond your boiling point. But that’s exactly what you must learn to do if you want to learn to manage your child’s ADHD behaviors more effectively. Whatever behavior you are focusing on, just be sure to look for the opposite, known as the Positive Opposite of that behavior. It’s far more beneficial to focus on the Positive as opposed to the Negative Behaviors. And, believe me, your child will thank you!

Set up a Token Economy or Point System– Another tool to add to your ADHD treatment toolkit is that of a simple Point Chart or Token Economy. This is a great way to keep your child’s goals in focus and offers a very tangible way to monitor progress. Most children are motivated by these systems and even simple rewards, when coupled with lavish praise from you as the parent, will motivate an otherwise apathetic child to try harder. Just remember to couple Praise with each time the child earns points or a reward for the Positive Behavior.

Follow These Additional Suggestions for Even Greater Success Effective Child Therapy offers these 5 tips to keep in mind when using behavioral strategies to treat your child’s ADHD:

Start with goals that your child can achieve and improve in small steps

Be consistent across different times of the day, different settings, and different people

Don’t expect instant changes-teaching and learning new skills takes time, and children’s improvement will be gradual

Constantly monitor the child’s response and adjust treatment as necessary

Begin intervention as early as possible-although behavioral intervention works for all ages, early treatment is more effective than later intervention

But What if Your Child’s ADHD Behaviors Continue? The good news is that most children will respond to these interventions in a very positive way. Just remember to start as early as possible, be consistent, and focus on small improvements, not huge progress overnight. If you try these tips and still find progress to be slow, you might need the help of a trained Behavior Management Professional.

Behavior Management Coaching can help parents deal with the stress of parenting an ADHD child by teaching concise, proven interventions to reduce childhood behavioral problems, improve the child’s self-esteem, and drastically reduce parent’s stress levels in the process. Talk to us today.

Testimonials

"I had been struggling with my son's defiance for months. It just seemed to keep getting worse and I started to get desperate.
That's when I found this website and bought the guide. It's been 2 weeks and I've seen AMAZING progress so far!"~Beth from California"Both of my kids were arguing all of the time. I dreaded the sound of the school bus coming every afternoon. I've been using the tips in the [Defeat Defiance] guide and things have really turned around."~Amanda from Pennsylvania"I am so grateful that I learned how traditional discipline methods can actually encourage bad behaviors. Now I know why my son's behaviors kept getting worse. Thanks Stephanie!"~Kari from Washington"No more being afraid to take [my son] to the grocery store or out to eat at a nice restaurant. He has finally started listening to me the first time when I ask him to do something.
Even his teacher has noticed how much better he is listening and following rules. It felt so good to hear something positive from her last week."~Toni from Alabama"You're not a BAD PARENT! I used to think I was the worst parent in the world. I was so embarrassed any time my daughter was around other people. The disrespect was over the top.
But now I am finally in control of my home. It feels great!"~Ashley from Florida

Shannon Neil Anderson MA, Certified Professional Coach, KMPT

Credentials:

Certified as a Parent Management Training Clinician in the Kazdin Method™ (KPMT)

Certified Professional Coach

Problem-Solving Skills Training

Stephanie Anderson, Certified Teacher, Certified Professional Coach

Credentials:

Certified Professional Coach Trained in the Kazdin Method™

Experience in presenting parenting workshops on “Parenting the Defiant Child”

The 1 Simple “Switch Around” Trick

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